By watching Michael's Phase One videoblog, I answered one of my questions: the Phase One "plus" backs will not be available 'til January, but you can get the non-Plus version in the meantime and will receive a free upgrade to the corresponding Plus version when they ship.

Make sure to confirm that Live Video works on the Contax (It doesn't, according to the PDF on P1's website).

Y[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=79514\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I would be using the contax mount, but for live video that is tethered only. I will be using a view camera, where I really want thelive video.

Good point though!

On th P30, you may want to check with some vendors. They can get pretty inventive if they think switching you to Phase will work. Once there, I can tell you that you may save much or on the phase side in the long run.

I have actually spent some time and compared'look' of Aptus and Phase files (65/75 vs 25/45.

There IS a different look, but not inherent. More like the difference between Leica and Zeiss glass (latter cooler, but more defined. maybe coating driven). I was able to get any 'look' I wanted out of the Phase file pretty easily even just from color space and the look selectiojnsin C1.

As a long time Leica fan I almost went Aptus for the look. Then with the split sensor issue , noise (yes a surprising amount of raw noise in some Aptus files, when you dont do noise reduction. I do NONE in C1)

So bottom line for me was in going from Kodak back (10,500) to Phase one P25 ($10,000 credit) to P45+ yes it is a lot of money, but I have put out a much smaller percentage than if I had started with Leaf.

You may want to re-consider (I did, both ways)

In the end, these are BOTH fantastic systems, and my comparisons were for MY needs and preferences.

Good luck. You really can't go wrong either way, but I thought it might help to hear of my journey for the past 6 onths (and Ihave decided to stay P1)

I would be using the contax mount, but for live video that is tethered only. I will be using a view camera, where I really want thelive video.

Good point though!

On th P30, you may want to check with some vendors. They can get pretty inventive if they think switching you to Phase will work. Once there, I can tell you that you may save much or on the phase side in the long run.

I have actually spent some time and compared'look' of Aptus and Phase files (65/75 vs 25/45.

There IS a different look, but not inherent. More like the difference between Leica and Zeiss glass (latter cooler, but more defined. maybe coating driven). I was able to get any 'look' I wanted out of the Phase file pretty easily even just from color space and the look selectiojnsin C1.

As a long time Leica fan I almost went Aptus for the look. Then with the split sensor issue , noise (yes a surprising amount of raw noise in some Aptus files, when you dont do noise reduction. I do NONE in C1)

So bottom line for me was in going from Kodak back (10,500) to Phase one P25 ($10,000 credit) to P45+ yes it is a lot of money, but I have put out a much smaller percentage than if I had started with Leaf.

You may want to re-consider (I did, both ways)

In the end, these are BOTH fantastic systems, and my comparisons were for MY needs and preferences.

Good luck. You really can't go wrong either way, but I thought it might help to hear of my journey for the past 6 onths (and Ihave decided to stay P1)

Please note that the 17" MBP suffers from low Voltage coming through the FW port while running on battery, which makes it dofficult to make the connection to digital backs and a few other FW devices back. Apple seem to be aware of this as their new 24" iMac offers a higher Voltage...

Hi Yair,Question regarding the Firewire ports on the new Intel MacBook Pro's (which I have and I am waiting for my Aptus-17):

So the problem is that if the MacBookPro runs on battery, the FW-port suffers from low voltage and does not allow to connect.

As long as either i) the MBP runs on external power or ii) on an external battery (maybe Digital Camera Battery or similar) the FW-port will allow proper connection to the Aptus-17 --- Is this correct?

Also: Is anybody aware of a solution to provides additional voltage to the FW-port via a second cable (to another port on the MBP) or a battery? Some PC USB-ports have the same issue and there are some USB-hubs available that get additional power via a second cable to another USB-port on the same machine.

Hi Yair,Question regarding the Firewire ports on the new Intel MacBook Pro's (which I have and I am waiting for my Aptus-17):

So the problem is that if the MacBookPro runs on battery, the FW-port suffers from low voltage and does not allow to connect.

As long as either i) the MBP runs on external power or ii) on an external battery (maybe Digital Camera Battery or similar) the FW-port will allow proper connection to the Aptus-17 --- Is this correct?

Also: Is anybody aware of a solution to provides additional voltage to the FW-port via a second cable (to another port on the MBP) or a battery? Some PC USB-ports have the same issue and there are some USB-hubs available that get additional power via a second cable to another USB-port on the same machine.

This problem exist only on the 17" MBP. The 15" and the MacBooks all seem to be OK.

As long as the 17" is running on AC, it'll connect and communicate to the back. Once this is done you can disconnect it from the AC source.

Regarding an external battery to run the MBP. I am not sure about this and it will need further testing with that specific battery.

There are other options:

1. use a powered FW hub such as [a href=\"http://industrialcomponent.com/unibrain/unifwrep4.html]http://industrialcomponent.com/unibrain/unifwrep4.html[/url], some can run on a 12V external battery.2. http://industrialcomponent.com/addlogix/firecable.html This one boosts the FW power as it comes out of the computer. This version runs on AC but I'm sure it can be modified to run on a battery.

At any rate we are looking for other, more elegant ways to have the backs powered independantly.

I had an experience earlier this year with the 20" iMac with built in iSight (purchased last december). The Phase One H25 would connect but all the images would come up black. Not enough power from the firewire ports. At the time the problem would occur on both intel and power pc imacs. The common factor was the iSight camera (earlier G5 iMacs without the camera did not have this problem). We solved the problem with This Belkin firewire hub for around $40.00....

Phase One also sells a battery powered repeater for circa $800.00. A solution like this one could also make you laptop battery last longer. I believe it would work just a well for Aptus shooters. There are no special connections, just a special pricetag.

If that FW hub requires its own AC adapter to be plugged in, then wouldn't it make sense for MacBook Pro users to just plug in the laptop itself? (I understand that you're talking about this issue with the desktop iMacs, but, if I understand what Yair said, this is only a problem for the 17" MacBook Pro if it's running on the battery rather than AC power).

Quote

I had an experience earlier this year with the 20" iMac with built in iSight (purchased last december). The Phase One H25 would connect but all the images would come up black. Not enough power from the firewire ports. At the time the problem would occur on both intel and power pc imacs. The common factor was the iSight camera (earlier G5 iMacs without the camera did not have this problem). We solved the problem with This Belkin firewire hub for around $40.00....

Phase One also sells a battery powered repeater for circa $800.00. A solution like this one could also make you laptop battery last longer. I believe it would work just a well for Aptus shooters. There are no special connections, just a special pricetag.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=79688\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Aaargh! Thanks to Victor, and a dealer who quoted me a better price than I'd thought would be available, I am now also considering the Phase P30+. Just when I thought I'd had my mind made up.....

So, I'd appreciate any more P30 v. Aptus 65 thoughts. Actually, I have a question: do the Phase backs have any option similar to the Leaf Digital Magazine (or whatever it's called), i.e., a way to shoot to an external hard drive rather than CF cards? The vast majoirty of the time, I would be shooting to CF or shooting tethered, but it'd be nice to have another option.

Aaargh! Thanks to Victor, and a dealer who quoted me a better price than I'd thought would be available, I am now also considering the Phase P30+. Just when I thought I'd had my mind made up.....

So, I'd appreciate any more P30 v. Aptus 65 thoughts. Actually, I have a question: do the Phase backs have any option similar to the Leaf Digital Magazine (or whatever it's called), i.e., a way to shoot to an external hard drive rather than CF cards? The vast majoirty of the time, I would be shooting to CF or shooting tethered, but it'd be nice to have another option.